Get Inspired to Lose Weight!

Clinical research and findings

As we age, it becomes more and more difficult for the body to produce enough CoQ10. An 80-year-old person has approximately half the CoQ10 levels of a 20-year-old. In the early 1980s, Karl Folkers, Ph.D., one of the researchers who pioneered CoQ10, conducted the first study of CoQ10 in the treatment of cardiomyopathy, a form of progressive heart failure. Nineteen patients who were expected to die from heart failure rebounded with an “extraordinary clinical improvement,” according to Folkers.

Clearly, a healthy heart is the key to a healthy body, and ensuring that the heart has the necessary spark of life is critical to activating the body's stores of energy. So if you want to get your body moving, ensuring proper tissue levels of CoQ10 is a good place to start.

Other physiological effects

Scientists estimate that once CoQ10 levels drop below a deficient level, a variety of health problems may take hold, so it is imperative that you maintain healthy CoQ10 levels in your body, and elevate them if you want an energy boost in order to get moving. CoQ10 has also shown to have an inhibitory affect on obesity in laboratory animals, which obviously is beneficial to anyone looking to lose weight.³

Adaptogenic herbs bring your body in to balance—and boost your brain power

Now before we get to these next three herbs, an explanation is needed for the term adaptogen. An adaptogen is a natural herb that increases the body's resistance to stresses, anxiety, trauma, and fatigue. Herbalists used to call this type of herb a rejuvenating herb or restorative. Succinctly, an adaptogen is an herb that has a normalizing effect on the body—bringing it back into balance, either by toning down systems that are overreacting, or boosting bodily systems that are underperforming.

Adaptogenic herbs are antioxidants and support three of the four weight loss principles. They are well regarded as brain-boosters, allowing for clear thinking and decision making. Thus they support both the knowledge and motivation principles. Adaptogenic herbs also fight fatigue, which increases energy and brings about movement. Let's take a look at three important adaptogenic herbs and see how they might assist in a healthy weight loss program.

Ashwagandha—3,000 years of brain boosting power

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. It comes from a woody shrub and is used as a tonic to rejuvenate the body and counter the ravages of aging. It boasts a 3,000-year history of effectiveness and safety.

Recent research confirms the effectiveness of ashwagandha in improving brain function, increasing learning ability, and prolonging memory retention. It also has a positive effect on reducing the impact of aging.

Clinical and research findings

Ashwagandha is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals, providing a protective and restorative effect on all tissues including the brain. Research in India demonstrated that ashwagandha increases antioxidant activity in the brain, protecting neuronal tissue from free radical damage.⁴

Stress, anxiety, depression, and free radical damage

Stress, anxiety, and depression are key factors in impaired brain function and loss of motivation because they increase your body's production of free radicals.⁵ Ashwagandha counters the brain diminishing effects of stress two ways. First, as a powerful antioxidant, it helps reduce free radical activity in brain tissue, which allows for better cognitive function.

Second, ashwagandha has been proven in research studies to be as effective as commonly prescribed drugs in reducing anxiety and depression. But it does not have any of the side effects associated with these prescription drugs.⁶ When you reduce stress and anxiety, you reduce the production of free radicals, and you improve brain function and your ability to stay focused and motivated. Ashwagandha's ability to scavenge free radicals from brain tissue makes it a valuable component in your arsenal to bolster brainpower, enhance decision making, and control motivation. Thus it stands to reason that ashwagandha supplementation could benefit anyone embarking on a weight loss program.

Other physiological effects

Ashwagandha has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to boost physical performance and stimulate sexual capacity. Thus, it supports the movement principle of weight loss. Ashwagandha is well tolerated with no side effects when taken in normal clinical amounts.

Panax Ginseng—broad protection for many areas of your health

At the outset, it's important to distinguish between true ginseng—Panax ginseng—and Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) or American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius).

Siberian and American ginsengs are not true ginsengs. And while they have positive physiological effects, they do not have the same mode of action as Panax ginseng, which is true ginseng. Panax ginseng has higher levels of important brain-protective components called ginsenosides than either American or Siberian ginsengs.

Clinical and research findings

A number of clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of Panax ginseng in improving different aspects of mental functioning. In one study, 112 healthy volunteers older than 40 years were given 400 mg per day of Panax ginseng for eight weeks. They showed better and faster reactions to psychometric tests and improved abstract thinking.⁷

Two other studies—each involving healthy volunteers who received 200 mg daily of Panax ginseng for eight weeks—demonstrated improvement in attention, processing, and auditory reaction time, social functioning, and mental health.⁸

In another study, 20 healthy young volunteers received a single 400 mg dose of Panax ginseng. They showed improvement in cognitive performance, memory performance, speed of memory tasks, and accuracy of attention-related tasks.⁹

The ginsenosides in Panax ginseng have a variety of beneficial actions, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer effects.¹⁰ The importance of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds in preventing mental deterioration, improving over all mental acuity, and allowing you to control your motivating thoughts cannot be emphasized enough in this discussion.

Other physiological effects

In traditional medicinal uses, ginseng is used to enhance physical, sexual, and mental performance and to increase energy. Thus it can help “get you off the couch” and moving your body. Also, like the other adaptogens discussed here, it protects your body from the harmful effects of stress and aging. Ginseng appears to reduce blood sugar levels and increase levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol—the “good” cholesterol. Overall, ginseng has a good safety record. Because Panax ginseng is a stimulant, the most common side effects are nervousness and excitability, which usually decrease after the first few days.

Schisandra Berry - Protecting memory by protecting nerve impulses

Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis) is a climbing vine grown not only for its ornamental and medicinal properties but also for consumption. Fruits, leaves, and bark contain the active components (called schisandrins).

Schisandra has traditionally been used to treat hepatitis, but recent animal and human studies have shown that it improves mental clarity and concentration.¹¹ Both of which are important when trying to think clearly, make knowledgeable weight loss decisions, and control your motivation.

Brain-related clinical and research findings

In one set of experiments, mice were given the chemical scopolamine, which induces amnesia. One group was then given an herbal treatment containing schisandra. The researchers stated that the treatment “significantly reduced scopolamine-induced memory deficits.”¹²

Additionally, in vitro (test tube) experiments found that schisandra limits neurotoxicity induced by amyloid-beta peptide (which causes oxidation) in cultured cortical animal neurons. These results suggest that schisandra has “protective characteristics against neuronal cell death and cognitive impairments.”

Other physiological effects

Schisandra is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat poor circulation and heart function, diarrhea and dysentery, fatigue, liver disease, mental and emotional illness, respiratory disease, sexual function, skin rash, and sleep disorders. Schisandra is a natural food substance and is safe for long-term use. It is uncommon for schisandra to cause side effects.

Peony Extract—proven learning enhancer

The roots of peony plants (Peonia suffruticosa) have been used in traditional medicines in China and Japan for a wide range of physical problems.

Clinical and research findings

Paeoniflorin is one of the major constituents of peony root. Paeoniflorin has various biological actions including improving of memory¹³ and antioxidant activity.¹⁴ The importance of antioxidants in protecting against mental deterioration has already been discussed.

“Sharp minds make sharp decisions, can process information better, and are less susceptible to impulse decisions that could thwart your weight loss efforts.”

Research reported within the last few years has determined that peony protects neurons from damage. This improves cognitive function and memory and reduces the opportunity for mental deterioration to take hold.¹⁵ Sharp minds make sharp decisions, can process information better, and are less susceptible to impulse decisions that could thwart your weight loss efforts.

Other physiological effects

Peony is traditionally used in Asia to treat muscle cramps, cardiovascular disorders, chronic viral hepatitis, and menstruation difficulties. Peony has no appreciable toxicity or side effects when taken at dosages below 4 gm per day.¹⁶

Ferulic Acid—powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient

Ferulic acid is not a traditional Ayurvedic or Chinese remedy as such. It's a natural component of many plants, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. But it's been isolated from a number of medications used in these ancient healing traditions. So these traditional medicines are undoubtedly deriving some of their effectiveness from ferulic acid.

Clinical and research findings

Animal studies have proven that ferulic acid is an effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. This action accounts in part for its brain boosting and protective power.¹⁷

Researchers at Hallym University (South Korea) gave ferulic acid to mice for four weeks. After four weeks, they injected beta-amyloid—a peptide that causes oxidation and inflammation—directly into the mices' brains. The control mice—the ones who had not received ferulic acid—showed between 19% and 35% decrease in their ability to perform certain tests. The mice given ferulic acid not only showed no decrease in performance, they showed improvement! This showed that the ferulic acid helped protect the mices' brains from the harmful beta-amyloid and allowed them to stay on task and complete the tests. The ability to stay on task is a benefit for anyone looking to find the patience necessary to “stick with” a weight loss routine, and may motivate one to continue their program.

Other physiological effects

Anecdotal evidence indicates that ferulic acid protects against cancer, bone degeneration, and menopausal symptoms like hot flashes. Like many other antioxidants, ferulic acid reduces levels of cholesterol and triglyceride, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.¹⁸ Additionally, no side effects were reported in animal studies using doses of up to 1,500 mg per day, which is about 7.5 times the amount normally taken by humans.¹⁹

Green tea extract—the natural starch blocker

Green tea has been used throughout Asia for thousands of years to promote longevity, improve mental functions, and promote health. But it is only within the past twenty years or so that green tea has become a popular healing tonic in the West.

Researchers have wondered about the Far East medical paradox for many years. Why do the Japanese people remain so thin, when obesity has become an epidemic in the United States?

The answer is the “starch blocking” effect of green tea may be part of the reason Japanese people living in Japan can eat so much rice but remain thin. They have a tradition of drinking green tea with every meal!

Clinical and research findings

One recent study confirms that tea catechins—potent antioxidants—are effective in suppressing increases of glucose and insulin concentrations in the blood. Since blood sugar tends to increase with age, this effect is an extremely important anti-aging benefit.²⁰ Another study indicates that one of the specific catechins, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), lowers appetite, body weight, blood sugar, and insulin levels.²¹

Plus, tea polyphenols inhibit the activity of amylase, a starch-digesting enzyme found in saliva and in the intestines. Starch is broken down more slowly, and the rise in serum glucose is minimized, so that you don't crave sweets and other snack foods after eating a meal.²² Since insulin is our most fattening hormone and, with cortisol, our most pro-aging hormone, if you take green tea in the form of a nutritional supplement, you gain a wide range of benefits that accompany calorie and insulin control. Both the patience and motivation principles of weight loss are supported when you don't have to fight cravings and you see results of your efforts.

Other physiological effects

Numerous population-based studies have demonstrated that green tea consumption is associated with a significantly lower risk for many types of cancer. In addition to the population-based evidence, green tea and green tea extracts have been shown to exert many healthful effects in experimental studies.

The right frame of mind

So there you have it … eight natural herbs and nutrients that support the four weight loss principles, and just might put you in the right frame of mind to not only start a weight loss program, but allow you to actually stick to it. Adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha, Panax ginseng, and schisandra can bring your body into balance. A fat burning compound like 7-Keto and a starch blocker like green tea can reduce cravings and show you early results to keep you going. Energy enhancers like Coenzyme Q10 can help get you moving, and you can keep your motivation level high with peony extract and ferulic acid.

“A fat burning compound like 7-Keto and a starch blocker like green tea can reduce cravings and show you early results to keep you going.”

As stated before … there is no miracle pill that will magically take off unwanted pounds. Sure, you've seen the ads and heard the stories. But don't be fooled. The secret to weight loss is no secret. In fact, it is pretty straightforward. Arm yourself with knowledge and look for ways to enhance cognitive function. Take a patient approach and know that healthy weight management is a lifetime commitment. Remember, movement is critical, so move your body often. And finally, take control of your motivation; desire is much more powerful than willpower.

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